MScBMC Open House 2024

Date & Location

Saturday, September 21, 2024 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

University of Toronto Mississauga (Details to be provided when registrations are confirmed.)

For directions and campus maps, see https://bmc.med.utoronto.ca/visit-us.

The BMC Open House is an informal, casual opportunity for potential applicants to meet with students who are currently enrolled in the program, to tour BMC's facilities at UTM, and to meet with faculty. Potential applicants can request a pre-application review to help them assemble the strongest application possible when they do apply. This is not an interview. Attendance at the Open House is not a guarantee of admission.

Formal interviews for Fall 2025 admission will take place February 20, 2025 and are by invitation only. (See Important Dates.) Ideally, interviews will be in person. However, if interviews must take place on-line, the BMC Open House will have provided an opportunity for potential applicants to meet BMC faculty in person and to seek feedback on transcripts and art.

Pre-application review

For potential applicants who would like a pre-application review, there are available a limited number of 10-minute scheduled appointments with various faculty members.

Review the BMC faculty profiles and request an appointment with someone whose areas of specialization are of interest to you. https://bmc.med.utoronto.ca/faculty-staff

Required

Attendees must register to attend, and must bring unofficial transcripts and art samples with them. Register here: Link coming soon.

Biomedical Communications grad student illustrates cover of national dental publication

Jo Yeon Seul Choi, a second-year student in the Master of Science in Biomedical Communications program at the University of Toronto, created the cover illustration for the June 2024 issue of Oral Health magazine. Oral Health is a monthly clinical publication with a circulation of more than 22,000 dental professionals.

The Oral Health June editor Dr. Bruce Pynn, oral and maxillofacial surgeon and Chief of Dentistry at Thunder Bay Regional Hospital, contacted the Biomedical Communications (BMC) program with the opportunity.

A University of Toronto alum, Dr. Pynn says that he knew of the BMC program through collaborations in the 1990s with the Art as Applied to Medicine students. As a student, Dr. Pynn was the editor of the student dental journal. Art as Applied to Medicine was the undergraduate bachelor of science degree that preceded the graduate Master of Science in Biomedical Communications, which was established in 1994.

Choi’s illustration of a skull and brain depicts the rare but dire consequences of some dental infections where bacteria can travel to the brain.

Choi says that depicting the skull at a three-quarter view allowed her to show cavities in the molars. She overlaid the skull with a cross-section of the brain in situ, and referenced CT scans to accurately represent the size of an abscess. As there are many different bacteria that can cause infections, she illustrated representative shapes of cocci, rod-like, and spiral bacteria.

Choi says that she enjoyed the collaborative experience of working with Dr. Pynn, and their collaboration led to another cover illustration for Dental Update, a peer-reviewed clinical journal for general dental practitioners in the United Kingdom.

“They came out the same month on two different sides of the ocean. Quite a feat,” says Dr. Pynn.

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Web sites referenced

Jo Choi’s online portfolio https://www.jochoi.ca/

Our History–From BSc to MSc https://bmc.med.utoronto.ca/projects

MScBMC student Juno Shemano awarded 2024 Vesalius Trust Research Grant

A second-year student in the Master of Science in Biomedical Communications program, Juno Shemano’s master’s research project was recognized with a 2024 Vesalius Trust Research Grant. Photo courtesy: J. Shemano

Juno Shemano, a second-year student in the Master of Science in Biomedical Communications program, was awarded a 2024 Vesalius Trust Research Grant for her master's research project Wound Watch: An interactive education platform on pressure injury prevention for unpaid caregivers.

Pressure injuries, also called bedsores, occur when blood flow to the skin and tissues is restricted through pressure; for example, from lying in bed or sitting in a wheelchair for prolonged periods of time.

Pressure injuries can become serious and result in the death of those tissues, bone infection, other complications arising from infections, and even death.

Unpaid caregivers, such as family, friends and neighbours, play an essential role in handling pressure injuries, but Juno’s literature search showed that existing educational resources are not created for these informal inexperienced caregivers.

Working with content advisor Sharon Gabison, researcher in rehabilitation science at the University Health Network, and BMC faculty advisor Michael Corrin, Juno is designing a public resource that will incorporate 3D interactive models, 2D visualizations, and animated illustrations. Each stage of pressure injuries will be depicted on the five most common risk areas of the human body.

Screen shot from the web site Wound Watch. Wound Watch is a publicly available educational resource created by Juno Shemano, MScBMC ‘24 specifically for unpaid caregivers. Image courtesy J. Shemano

Juno has designed Wound Watch to fill a gap in existing media by incorporating visual representations on darker skin. She is creating content that considers the right amount of visual complexity for the audience. And, she is striving to achieve the balance between providing distressing medical information in a sensitive manner, while still providing information vital to patient care.

The Wound Watch platform will be available in summer 2024.

MScBMC students who also received 2024 Vesalius Trust awards include:

Beatrice Nai-Jung Chen, MScBMC '24–Research Grant for her project A road map of health care transition to adult care for adolescents with paediatric heart disease

Jayne Leggatt, MScBMC '24–the Joyce McGill Scholarship for her project Sonoanatomy Atlas: An Interactive Educational Resource for Sonoanatomy and Ultrasound Protocol

Samantha Li, MScBMC '24–Research Grant for her project Storytelling with data: Teaching data-driven storytelling to undergraduate life science students

Natalie Lucas, MScBMC ‘24–Speaking from the heart: An audience-informed animation for navigating palliative care and advanced heart failure.

Vesalius Trust awards are made annually to recognize student research projects of merit.

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Web sites referenced

Juno Shemano’s online portfolio https://www.junoshemano.com/

Beatrice Nai-Jung Chen’s Vesalius Trust Research Grant announcement https://uoft.me/vt2024-beatrice-chen

Jayne Leggatt’s Joyce McGill Scholarship announcement https://uoft.me/vt2024-jayne-leggatt

Samantha Li’s Vesalius Trust Research Grant announcement https://uoft.me/vt-2024-sam-li

Natalie Lucas’ Vesalius Trust Research Grant announcement https://uoft.me/vt-2024-natalie-lucas

MScBMC student Natalie Lucas awarded 2024 Vesalius Trust Research Grant

The Vesalius Trust awarded a 2024 Research Grant to Natalie Lucas, MScBMC ‘24. Photo courtesy: N. Lucas

Natalie Lucas, a second year student in the Master of Science in Biomedical Communications program at the University of Toronto, was awarded a 2024 Vesalius Trust Research Grant for her master's research project Speaking from the heart: An audience-informed animation for navigating palliative care and advanced heart failure.

The transition from palliative care to advanced care (sometimes called end-of-life care or hospice) is a sensitive topic–for patients, their health-care team, family, friends and other caregivers.

Patients approach palliative and advanced care decisions in different ways, and need to understand the process and the resources that are available to them. Health-care providers experience difficulty initiating the discussion and rely on printed pamphlets to communicate information.

Working with Anne Simard, Staff Scientist and Director of Transform HF, Samantha Engbers, Research and Planning Associate at the Ted Rogers Centre for Heart Research, and BMC faculty advisor Nicholas Woolridge, Natalie is creating a 2D animation for people living with advanced heart failure and their at-home caregivers.

Still from the 2D animation Speaking from the Heart. Courtesy: N. Lucas

Natalie’s choice of medium, 2D animation, was strategic. People who experience advanced heart failure tend to be 50 and older. "People who grew up during Disney's Golden Era. For them, it's a beloved medium," says Natalie. "Animation is associated with entertainment, and bringing entertainment into education is something I'm passionate about."

Natalie is creating characters informed by interviews with patients and caregivers who have lived-experience. She is incorporating diversity of gender, age, body type, race and ethnicity into her character design.

The goal is for patients to be able to see themselves in the experiences represented while learning how to manage at home the complex symptoms of heart failure.

Health-care providers will be able to use the animation as a resource to initiate conversations about palliative and advanced care.

Speaking from the heart: An audience-informed animation for navigating palliative care and advanced heart failure will be available in summer 2024 on The Heart Hub, the patient and caregiver education site of the Ted Rogers Centre for Heart Research.

MScBMC students who also received 2024 Vesalius Trust awards include:

• Beatrice Nai-Jung Chen, MScBMC '24–Research Grant for her project A road map of health care transition to adult care for adolescents with paediatric heart disease

• Jayne Leggatt, MScBMC '24–the Joyce McGill Scholarship for her project Sonoanatomy Atlas: An Interactive Educational Resource for Sonoanatomy and Ultrasound Protocol

• Samantha Li, MScBMC '24–Research Grant for her project Storytelling with data: Teaching data-driven storytelling to undergraduate life science students

• Juno Shemano, MScBMC '24–Research Grant for her project Wound watch: An interactive education platform on pressure injury prevention for unpaid caregivers

Vesalius Trust awards are made annually to recognize student research projects of merit.

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Web sites referenced

Natalie Lucas’ Instagram https://www.instagram.com/natalielucasyoungblood/

The Heart Hub https://ourhearthub.ca/

Beatrice Nai-Jung Chen’s Vesalius Trust Research Grant announcement https://uoft.me/vt2024-beatrice-chen

Jayne Leggatt’s Joyce McGill Scholarship announcement https://uoft.me/vt2024-jayne-leggatt

Samantha Li’s Vesalius Trust Research Grant announcement https://uoft.me/vt-2024-sam-li

Juno Shemano’s Vesalius Trust Research Grant announcement https://uoft.me/vt2024-juno-shemano

MScBMC student Samantha Li awarded Vesalius Trust Research Grant

Sam Li, a second-year student in the Master of Science in Biomedical Communications program at the University of Toronto, was recognized with a Vesalius Trust Research Grant.

The Vesalius Trust awarded a 2024 Research Grant to Samantha Li, a second-year student in the Master of Science in Biomedical Communications program at the University of Toronto. She is one of five biomedical communications students to be recognized.

Sam received the grant to support her master's research project Storytelling with data: Teaching data-driven storytelling to undergraduate life science students. The multimedia interactive learning resource will teach students how to craft a visual narrative to communicate their original research to their supervisors and peers. Research supervisors and instructors will be able to incorporate the resource into their existing science communication training workflow.

Sam Li is creating The SciStory Laboratory, a scrollytelling web site that introduces students to a work flow for generating research posters that incorporate good visual design and revolve around a central narrative.

A part of an undergraduate science student's training is to create posters to convey the results of their original research. The posters summarize the work that a student has conducted to investigate a topic. However, packaging this new knowledge into a clear and compelling narrative is challenging without training.

Until now, training has included referring students to examples of excellence but this does not teach students how to build their own visual stories.

Working with content advisors Gaël McGill, professor at Harvard Medical School, Susan Keen, professor at the University of California, Davis, biomedical communications faculty advisors Jodie Jenkinson and Nicholas Woolridge, and research associate Ke Er Amy Zhang, Sam is creating The SciStory Laboratory.

The SciStory Laboratory is a scrollytelling web site that introduces students to a work flow for generating research posters that incorporate good visual design and revolve around a central narrative.

Sam is embedding didactic yet playful 2D animation as a simple but effective tool to engage users. She is incorporating interactive elements such as sliders to allow users to compare and see how certain design considerations afford better understanding. She is including case studies to serve as models for students to get a sense of how to tell their own research story.

The SciStory Laboratory will be available for testing by University of Toronto undergraduate life science students by summer 2024.

The following MScBMC students also received 2024 Vesalius Trust awards:

Beatrice Nai-Jung Chen, MScBMC '24–Research Grant for her project A road map of health care transition to adult care for adolescents with paediatric heart disease

Jayne Leggatt, MScBMC '24–the Joyce McGill Scholarship for her project Sonoanatomy Atlas: An Interactive Educational Resource for Sonoanatomy and Ultrasound Protocol

Natalie Lucas, MScBMC '24–Research Grant for her project Speaking from the heart: An audience-informed animation for navigating palliative care and advanced heart failure

Juno Shemano, MScBMC '24–Research Grant for her project Wound watch: An interactive education platform on pressure injury prevention for unpaid caregivers

Vesalius Trust awards are made annually to recognize student research projects of merit.

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Web sites referenced

Sam Li’s online portfolio https://www.samlivisuals.com

Beatrice Chen's Vesalius Trust Research Grant announcement https://uoft.me/vt2024-beatrice-chen

Jayne Leggat’s Joyce McGill Scholarship announcement https://uoft.me/vt2024-jayne-leggatt

Natalie Lucas’ Vesalius Trust Research Grant announcement https://uoft.me/vt-2024-natalie-lucas

Juno Shemano’s Vesalius Trust Research Grant announcement https://uoft.me/vt2024-juno-shemano

2024 BMC speaker series: Ni-Ka Ford, CMI, Founder of Enlight Visuals

Ni-Ka Ford, CMI, Founder of Enlight Visuals

Advancing Health and Perception through Inclusive Medical Illustration

In recent years, there has been growing recognition of the importance of diversity and inclusion in medical illustration. Diverse representation within the field and in the work of medical illustration has numerous positive effects on patient health and public perceptions. How can we foster greater inclusivity in our practice and drive change within our spheres of influence? Ni-ka will share her process for creating diverse and inclusive medical illustrations. As the former Chair of the Association of Medical Illustrators Diversity Committee, she will also discuss the influence and impact of intentional DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) work rooted in anti-oppressive practice on an organization.

Date: Friday, April 26, 2024
Time: 2:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. ET
Register to attend webinar through this link: https://uoft.me/bmc-speaker-2024-ford. Once registered, a Zoom link will be sent to your email address.
2024 BMC speaker series program. https://bmc.med.utoronto.ca/news-events/2024/02/01/bmc-speakers-2024

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Ni-ka Ford is a Board-Certified Medical Illustrator based in Atlanta Georgia. She is the founder of Enlight Visuals, a scientific and medical visualization studio. She creates didactic illustrations and 3D visualizations for scientific research, journal publications, medical education, and patient educational materials. She received a MS degree in biomedical visualization from the University of Illinois at Chicago and a BFA in studio art from Georgia Southern University. Ni-ka’s goals include improving health literacy through visual communication and contributing to the growing need for inclusive and diverse representation within medical and healthcare literature. As a professional member of the Association of Medical Illustrators, she has served as Chair of the Diversity Committee (2021-2023) and was inducted as a Fellow of the AMI in 2023.

Web site: https://enlightvisuals.com
Instagram: @enlight_visuals
Twitter: @enlight_visuals
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ni-kaford/

MScBMC student Beatrice Chen awarded Vesalius Trust Research Grant

A second-year student in the Master of Science in Biomedical Communications program at the University of Toronto, Beatrice Nai-Chung was awarded a research grant from the Vesalius Trust.

Beatrice Nai-Jung Chen, MScBMC '24, was awarded a 2024 Vesalius Trust Research Grant for her master's research project A road map of health care transition to adult care for adolescents with paediatric heart disease.

In Canada, when a child with paediatric heart disease turns 18, their medical records are transferred from paediatric to adult health care.

However, the transition for a paediatric patient from family-supported health care to self-managed health care is a long-term process. It begins in the patient's adolescence and continues into young adulthood.

Working with Sahr Wali, a researcher with Transform HF, Amir Jeewa, a cardiologist at Toronto's Hospital for Sick Children, and BMC faculty advisors Shelley Wall and Nicholas Woolridge, Beatrice has created a preproduction animatic for a 2D animation, and a high-fidelity prototype for a mobile application.

Image of the main interface of the mobile app, tentatively named Chameleon. Beatrice Nai-Jung Chen created Chameleon to guide paediatric heart patients through and ease the transition to self-managed care. Image courtesy of B. Chen.

The animation will help paediatric patients understand what to expect as they transition. The mobile app will help them easily get accurate information.

The animatic and the prototype mobile app will be available in July 2024 for evaluation by paediatric heart patients preparing to transition to adult health care.

The Vesalius Trust also awarded a scholarship and research grants to support the work of the following MScBMC second-year students:

• Jayne Leggatt, MScBMC '24–the Joyce McGill Scholarship for her project Sonoanatomy Atlas: An Interactive Educational Resource for Sonoanatomy and Ultrasound Protocol.

• Samantha Li, MScBMC '24–Research Grant for her project Storytelling with data: Teaching data-driven storytelling to undergraduate life science students

• Natalie Lucas, MScBMC '24–Research Grant for her project Speaking from the heart: An audience-informed animation for navigating palliative care and advanced heart failure

• Juno Shemano, MScBMC '24–Research Grant for her project Wound watch: An interactive education platform on pressure injury prevention for unpaid caregivers

Vesalius Trust awards are made annually to recognize student research projects of merit.

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Web sites referenced

Beatrice Chen's online portfolio http://beatricenjc.weebly.com/

Jayne Leggat’s Joyce McGill Scholarship announcement https://uoft.me/vt2024-jayne-leggatt

Samantha Li’s Vesalius Trust Research Grant announcement https://uoft.me/vt-2024-sam-li

Natalie Lucas’ Vesalius Trust Research Grant announcement https://uoft.me/vt-2024-natalie-lucas

Juno Shemano’s Vesalius Trust Research Grant announcement https://uoft.me/vt2024-juno-shemano

University of Toronto student named 2024 recipient of the Vesalius Trust's Joyce McGill Scholarship

Jayne Leggatt, MScBMC ‘24, winner of the Vesalius Trust’s 2024 Joyce McGill Scholarship. Photo courtesy of J. Leggatt.

The Vesalius Trust awarded the 2024 Joyce McGill Scholarship to Jayne Leggatt, a second-year student in the Master of Science in Biomedical Communications program at the University of Toronto.

She received the scholarship for her master’s research project Sonoanatomy atlas: An interactive educational resource for sonoanatomy and ultrasound protocol. The Sonoanatomy Atlas is a web-based training tool that will guide medical students through the interpretation of ultrasound images and understanding of the shoulder anatomy.

One of the top two Vesalius Trust awards, the Joyce McGill Scholarship recognizes the nature and merit of a research project.

Compilation of images from Jayne Leggatt’s master’s research project Sonoanatomy atlas: An interactive educational resource for sonoanatomy and ultrasound protocol. Compilation courtesy of J. Leggatt.

Ultrasound imaging is an important tool across many medical disciplines. But learning ultrasound is challenging.

Ultrasound users must orient information on different planes, translate between two-dimensional and three-dimensional relationships, and interpret the structures available only in shades of grey.

Working with Terry Li, anatomist at the University of Manitoba, and biomedical communications faculty advisors Michael Corrin and Nicholas Woolridge, Jayne has created a web-based interactive educational resource.

Jayne optimized data from the Visible Human Project to design a dynamic 3D model of the anatomy of the shoulder. The model includes bones, muscles, tendons, ligaments, nerves and blood vessels. Users can rotate the model, view cross-sectional cutaways, and visualize anatomic structures in movement.

A prototype of the online Sonoanatomy Atlas will be available in July 2024 for evaluation by medical students at the University of Winnipeg and the University of Toronto.

The Vesalius Trust also awarded research grants to support the work of the following MScBMC students:

• Beatrice Nai-Jung Chen, MScBMC ‘24, for her project A road map of health care transition to adult care for adolescents with paediatric heart disease

• Samantha Li, MScBMC ‘24, for her project Storytelling with data: Teaching data-driven storytelling to undergraduate life science students

• Natalie Lucas, MScBMC '24–Research Grant for her project Speaking from the heart: An audience-informed animation for navigating palliative care and advanced heart failure

  Juno Shemano, MScBMC '24–Research Grant for her project Wound watch: An interactive education platform on pressure injury prevention for unpaid caregivers

Vesalius Trust Research Grants are awarded annually to meritorious student projects.

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Web sites referenced

Jayne Leggatt’s online portfolio https://www.jayneleggatt.com

Beatrice Nai-Jung Chen’s Vesalius Trust Research Grant announcement https://uoft.me/vt2024-beatrice-chen

Samantha Li’s Vesalius Trust Research Grant announcement https://uoft.me/vt-2024-sam-li

Natalie Lucas’ Vesalius Trust Research Grant announcement https://uoft.me/vt-2024-natalie-lucas

Juno Shemano’s Vesalius Trust Research Grant announcement https://uoft.me/vt2024-juno-shemano

Spring Critique 2024

Collage of visualizations from Spring Critique 2024 Best in Show awardees Anaiah Reyes, MScBMC ‘25, Beatrice Chen, MScBMC ‘24 and Andrew Janeczek, MScBMC ‘24.

This past Wednesday, April 17, the first and second year students, biomedical communications faculty, and guest judges, gathered to review student work completed over the winter semester.

Spring Critique is a professional development opportunity where students give and receive constructive feedback on their work–valuable preparation for interacting with clients in industry.

After a morning of reviewing student showcases, attendees voted to name Year I and Year II student showcases the Best in Show. As chosen by their colleagues, Year I's Best in Show was awarded to Anaiah Reyes, MScBMC '25. Beatrice Chen and Andrew Janeczek, both MScBMC '24, tied for Year II's Best in Show.

Thanks to our guest judges Brittany Cheung, MScBMC '21, Professor Emerita Margot Mackay, BScAAM '68, and Michie Wu, MScBMC '22.

Congratulations to our winners and to all our students on the successful completion of the winter semester!

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Web sites referenced

Beatrice Chen’s online portfolio http://beatricenjc.weebly.com

Andrew Janeczek’s online portfolio https://www.andrewjaneczek.com

Anaiah Reyes’ Instagram https://www.instagram.com/areyes_visuals/

2024 BMC speaker series: Drew Berry, MSc, PhD (hc), Biomedical Animator wehi.tv

Drew Berry, MSc, PhD (hc), Biomedical Animator wehi.tv

Generative, dynamic model of a Lysosome organelle

Drew Berry will present wehi.tv’s latest production to generate dynamic, real-time organelle-scale models for science communication and education.

Date: Friday, March 22, 2024
Time: 2:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. ET
Register to attend webinar: https://utoronto.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_FXa6j9vYSeG9QoADJCHmJQ
2024 BMC speaker series program. https://bmc.med.utoronto.ca/news-events/2024/02/01/bmc-speakers-2024

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Drew Berry is a biologist-animator renowned for his visually stunning and scientifically accurate animations of molecular and cellular processes. With a background in cell biology and microscopy, Drew ensures that each project is scientifically rigorous and based on current research data. He has been a biomedical animator at WEHI Australia since 1995, and his work has been showcased at international venues such as the Guggenheim Museum, MoMA, and the Royal Institute of Great Britain. In 2011, he collaborated with Björk on her album Biophilia. Drew has received numerous awards, including an Emmy, a BAFTA, and the MacArthur Fellowship Genius Grant.

Web site wehi.tv
YouTube https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLD0444BD542B4D7D9
TED http://www.ted.com/talks/drew_berry_animations_of_unseeable_biology
Architectural projection https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m9AA5x-qhm8
Björk video https://youtu.be/Yn8AC8z2adU
Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drew_Berry